Carmen Jones (1954)

Otto Preminger was one of the first of the independent filmmakers, breaking his ties with the studio in the early 1950s. Therefore, he was able to make movies about controversial subjects, such as heroin addiction, infidelity, and similar moral and social themes, untouchable by the major studios because of their agreement with the Hays Office. As producer, director, and everything else, Preminger simply bypassed the censors and released his films to the public.

Preminger helmed Carmen Jones, a version of Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen featuring an all black cast. The movie shows the immense potential of several actors that were criminally underused during the glory years of cinema; Dorothy Dandridge, Brock Peters, Pearl Bailey, Olga James, and Diahann Carroll, among them. I didn’t think Harry Belafonte did much more than show a very pretty face in this one. He just moped around for the most part.

Dorothy Dandridge - “the black Marilyn Monroe,” according to Lena Horne, stars as Carmen, a prototypical femme fatale. Unlike Halle Berry’s tepid depiction of the spitfire Dandridge in the HBO biopic, the real Dandridge as Carmen did display that fire and grit that very few actresses have been able to muster on camera. Marilyn Monroe is a very good example of a similar talent, as were the earlier Marlene Dietrich and Claudette Colbert. Each of these ladies had that “it” that would cause a suitor to walk over hot coals for them and could bring that personal magnetism to their screen performance.

Set in an army camp, civilian worker Dandridge gets into trouble and the sergeant (Brock Peters) who has designs on Belafonte’s girlfriend (Olga James), assigns Belafonte to take Dandridge to civilian jail, quite a distance away. The jeep breaks down and Dandridge flees, gets caught, they fall in love, Dandridge escapes after overpowering Belafonte in the obligatory interlude - symbolized by a crushed and dripping peach - and Belafonte ends up in the Stockade. He becomes obsessed with Dandridge (easy to imagine) and when he gets out, they have a small fling, he goes AWOL at her prompting, but she tires of him and takes up with a prizefighter. The tragic end soon follows.

More of a musical than an opera - there are significant portions where no singing or music is happening - the musical themes chosen from Carmen are some of the most representative. Everybody has heard them. They’ve been used in commercials or as background music in thousands of settings. Oscar Hammerstein wrote lyrics for the updated version. Listen for the “dese,” “dems,” and “doses” in da singing. This was probably acceptable stereotyping in 1954 but today would likely provoke some outrage in viewers who are sensitive to this sort of exploitation.

I think the film goes over quite well, especially in the singing portions, with Dandridge, Pearl Bailey, and Olga James as outstanding. All the principal voices were dubbed, even though Dandridge and Belafonte were accomplished singers in their own right.

The Fox DVD contains a Technicolor print of the 105 minute movie in 2.55:1 Cinemascope theatrical format. Some passages of the film show fading so a restoration would seem to be in order.

Dorothy Dandridge was a dynamic screen talent who unfortunately did not get used as much as she should have. Carmen Jones is probably the best showcasing of her quite formidable talent and screen presence. For that reason alone it is a classic and deserves to be seen by all who value great movies.

For a bit of biographical data on Dorothy Dandridge, who had many parallels with Marilyn Monroe, watch Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, however please mentally multiply Ms. Berry’s sex appeal and talent about 10 fold to properly gauge DD’s star power, or you can just watch Carmen and see the real McCoy.

Thanks for reading!

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening